'My daughter popped to the shops 7 years ago, she was never seen again'

Georgina Gharsallah's mum has revealed her biggest fear is never finding out what happened to her daughter after she disappeared more than seven years ago.

Andrea Gharsallah said it's hard to continue daily life knowing that she might never get answers to her questions. She's been fighting for those answers ever since Georgina's disappearance in Worthing, back in March 2018.

The mum-of-two was 30 years old when she was last seen on CCTV inside Clifton Food and Wine shop in Clifton Road, Worthing. The owner said she had asked for help with her phone, which had been playing up, and he had directed her towards a specialist shop.

She had arranged to meet her dad later that day but never turned up. Her phone left the network at 11.40am and never reconnected.

Police have spoken to hundreds of people who claimed to have information about Georgina's whereabouts, but the truth has yet to be uncovered. Andrea's heart breaks at the thought of never knowing what happened on that night seven years ago.

"I think that's one of my biggest fears now; never finding out what happened, you know, as I get older," she told the Mirror. "I know we might never know...

"We might never know, but I think about it a lot. It's something that's a constant in my mind."

"It's hard living your life for years and years not knowing. I know there's many other people [in a similar position], you know, like Claudia Lawrence."

Claudia Lawrence was 35 years old when she disappeared from York in March 2009. She failed to turn up for work at the Univeristy of York, which initially raised questions.

Police later believed Claudia was murdered, but her body has never been found, and nobody has been charged over her death.

"I met Claudia's father and he fought for answers and did so many things," Andrea said. "He passed away a few years ago without even knowing what happened to his daughter.

"I think about that all the time. I think, 'Oh, that must be really awful'. I don't want that to happen."

A major breakthough came early on in Georgina's case, after she was spotted on CCTV speaking to a man in a Brighton supermarket the night prior to her disappearance.

It was later revealed that there more 60 text messages between Georgina and the man, and he was subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder.

"The missing case became a murder case," Andrea previously told the Mirror. "Police arrested him and his housemate because he had lied about knowing Georgina."

They were both later released without charge due to insufficient evidence, and it was back to the drawing board.

After several years of heartbreaking appeals and false leads, Andrea said she'll keep fighting for answers, despite sick trolls spreading rumours about what might've happened to Georgina.

She said: "I just feel like I have to be Georgina's voice because I am fighting for justice for Georgina.

"I'm fighting for the right for Georgina to be found and to find answers - for us and for her. If something has happened to her, she does have the right to be found."

Sussex Police said it followed up on all reasonable lines of enquiry into Georgina's disappearance. The case's senior investigating officer, Detective Superintendent Andy Wolstenholme thanked those who gave information in hope of finding out what happened to Andrea's daughter.

He also wrote an open letter to those who know the truth about Georgina, back in March of this year, on what was the seventh year of her disappearance.

"Seven long years, you’ve kept a secret that is causing so much pain and heartbreak," he wrote. "Isn’t it time you gave it up?

"Georgina is loved and missed by so many people – her mother, her father, her children, her sisters, and her friends. They are desperate for answers about what happened to her on this day in March 2018. Don’t you think they deserve to know?

"We’re asking you to do the right thing and share the information with us. Do it for yourself, to be free from that burden of knowledge. Do it for Georgina’s family and friends, to ease the anguish of not knowing what happened to her. Do it for Georgina, because she deserves justice."

You can report information to police directly either online or by calling 101 quoting Operation Pavo. You can also share information via the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously online or by calling 0800 555 111.

A Crimestoppers reward of £20,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible remains in place. You can contact them online or on 0800 555 111 or report online or call us on 101 quoting Operation Pavo.

The Mirror is using its platform to launch Missed – a campaign to shine a light on underrepresented public-facing missing persons in the UK in collaboration with Missing People Charity. Because every missing person, no matter their background or circumstances, is someone’s loved one. And they are always Missed.